For thirty years, scientists have been predicting that the global temperature increases were going to have significant consequences such as more extreme weather- bigger and more frequent storms, more flooding, longer droughts, more wildfires, rising sea levels and tens of thousands of environmental refugees.The consequences of climate change are already evident. It doesn’t take another international study by 2000 scholars and scientists to confirm this. In the United States alone, the Maine lobsters are moving to Canada. The armadillos are moving up to Illinois. Wildfires in California have burned more than 800,000 acres of land. Texas has had three (3) five-hundred year floods in the last three (3) years. The frequency and severity of the hurricane season all across the planet isn’t a coincidence. Predictions about the future are difficult to make accurately. But there is no larger environmental issue that is more foreseeable than the fact that 80 million of us baby boomers are going to need end of life services in the near future. This huge demographic anomaly provides our country (United States) with an important way to help solve several problems. The first is that most cemeteries are already full. The second is that green burial can reduce significant amounts of unnecessary climate changing pollution.This demographic anomaly has been called The Silver Tsunami.Here’s the situation. When Americans are buried in a conventional cemetery (one allowing or requiring concrete liners and embalmed bodies), they are interred below the flat green grass that has been watered and probably treated with pesticides. (A cemetery in San Mateo, CA uses $300,000 worth of water every year).Prior to burial, many bodies in the United States are filled with embalming chemicals. Every year, over four million gallons of embalming fluid containing formaldehyde is placed into the ground. Twenty (20) million board feet of lumber a year is used to make caskets. I don’t have any problem with that if it is not endangered South American hardwood. A good book about all of this, Grave Matters by Mark Harris estimates that the average 10 acre swatch of cemetery ground contains 1000 tons of casket steel. But worst of all, all of this is put inside a cement vault. These concrete boxes keep the lawns flat, and allow the cemetery to pack more caskets closer together.Unless we can provide people with better alternatives about 40%, or 30 million of us 80 million boomers will probably have to be buried in this manner. Now, mainly because it is less expensive, the other 60% of the baby boomers, about 50 million people will choose to be cremated.Then of course there is the smoke and particulate matter from 50 million burning bodies. Cremation is correctly viewed as being easier on the planet than full body burial of an embalmed body, and cremation will probably continue to be a bit less expensive than natural burial plots, but taking up less space isn’t necessarily a good argument. In Japan, 95% of the people are cremated because it’s a small country. They don’t have a lot of space. In the United States, we have plenty.But from an environmental point of view natural burial is by far the best.There is a growing movement in Europe and the United States for natural burials. The so-called “green burials” are really just a return to the old ways, like the Pilgrims did. Bury the person in a pine box or a shroud and plant a tree over the grave. “What we now call green burial, used to be called burial.”The United States is lagging behind England. They have more than 250 green cemeteries, or natural burial parks or ancestral groves. We only have a couple dozen of the all natural parks: Although that number is growing. I just saw the plans for a new one in Florida.Green burials, typically, are not as expensive as a the conventional cemetery with upright and/or flat markers. There are many within the funeral industry, that are, understandably, not big fans of the natural burial movement. They won’t get to sell as much concrete or brass or perform their embalming services.But more and more of the typical flat lawn cemeteries are starting to respond to the increasing interest in and demand for green burials by dedicating parcels of their properties for green burial. These are now being called hybrid cemeteries.But hybrid cemeteries will not be enough. Most of our typical tombstone cemeteries are already almost full! We need to start planning and creating a large quantity of new cemeteries to accommodate the millions of Americans who will choose full body burial. We will need to accommodate about eight million people right here in California in the very near future. Like I said, there is no future problem that is more accurately predictable.It is difficult to set up new cemeteries. The rules in California are tough. But I think we could help solve the shortage of cemeteries and provide people with a green burial option by working with land trust organizations.The concept is simple. Land trusts dedicate a small portion of their holdings for a natural burial park. The consumers purchase a plot and the burial service. The land trust oversees the planting of trees or native grasses over the graves and uses the proceeds to protect more open space. It’s called a conservation cemetery; it has a higher purpose than just storage.All the trends are showing that people want more participation in the end of life events. Home funerals, hospice midwives, and innovative burial events are increasingly popular.Star Trek’s, James Doohan, had a portion of his ashes shot into the Earth’s orbit. Outdoorsman John Grayson Rogers had his ashes put into an eternal reef ball placed near the coral reefs in the Chesapeake Bay.I believe that there are many thousands of people in California and around the country, like Prius buyers and Whole Foods shoppers, who care strongly about environmental issues and climate change who would rather spend their money for a more ecological end of life alternative.Marshall McLuhan said, “There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.”I believe natural burial can be a win, win-win, idea. It’s a win for open space preservation because it would help fund land trust protection efforts. And, it is a double win for us boomer consumers. We save some money. And we benefit from knowing that our last act made a small yet positive contribution to the overheated little planet that we will soon be leaving to our grandchildren. And that makes it a win for the planet.The eloquent environmental philosopher Aldo Leopold wrote,“A rock decays and forms soil. In the soil grows an oak,Which bears an acorn, which feeds a squirrel,Which feeds an Indian, Who ultimately lays himdown to his last sleep in the great tomb of man– to grow another oak.”​]]>Fri, 03 Aug 2018 16:57:23 GMThttp://www.naturalburialnewmexico.com/blog/stewards-of-the-earth​Aldo Leopold (1887 – 1948) is considered the father of modern wildlife ecology and he spent many years of his life in New Mexico, leaving behind an environmental legacy. He began his professional career in 1909 when he joined the U.S. Forest Service. Among his many accomplishments are the creation of the Gila Wilderness near Silver City (the first proclaimed Wilderness area in the U.S.) and the foundation of the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation. Leopold had a special love for Albuquerque, and strongly advocated for the responsible growth of the city when he served as Secretary of Albuquerque’s Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife Estella lived in a home and created a visionary garden near the Rio Grande off of 14thand Central. At this time, Leopold also promoted the creation of what would later become the Rio Grande Valley State Park. His vision and efforts eventually lead to the creation of the Rio Grande Zoological Park, Botanic Gardens, and the Rio Grande Nature Center.The Aldo Leopold Forest was dedicated on Feb. 15, 2009. This forest is approximately 53 acres in size, extending from the north boundary of the Nature Center to the southeast side of the Montaño Bridge. There are naturally surfaced trails for hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians on this beautifully maintained trail system, with signage along the way honoring Leopold’s legacy in New Mexico and promoting his vision of an ethical relationship with the land.Please read a few of Mr. Leopold’s quotes from the signage along the trail –

A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.

Land, then, is not merely soil; it is a fountain of energy flowing through a circuit of soils, plants, and animals.

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

We at Natural Burial New Mexico believe in treating the land with love and respect and in preserving the integrity and beauty of La Puerta Natural Burial Ground.

Thank you to all of you who share in our vision and have chosen La Puerta as a final resting place for yourselves and your loved ones. We are truly honored, and pledge to you that we will continue to cherish La Puerta as “a fountain of energy that flows through the soil, plants, and animals”, and your loved ones buried there.

The water supply was a hand-dug earthen well just outside the yard fence at the rear of the house. A path led from the back porch off the kitchen to a gate in the fence at the opposite corner from the well. Inside the yard, nearest the well at the back of the kitchen was a peach tree.

I was five years old, and in the dream, I had been sent to draw water in the dark. The soft light from the kitchen window made visible the well, the peach tree, and the path.

After filling the bucket, I turned to start back up the fence to the gate. Movement from behind the peach tree caught my eye. When I looked more closely, I found myself staring into the eyes of a huge African lion. With every step I took toward the gate the lion took one too. I looked at the distance I had to cover to get to the porch and realized it was twice the distance the lion had to go to reach me. In addition, I knew the lion was much faster. For a few seconds, I stood frozen, aware I was going to die, then decided to make a run for it anyway.

At that point, I woke up with my mother sitting beside me on the bed, wiping the sweat from my brow.

Dream #2: The Questions

After a two-year struggle with a terminal illness, my father passed away. A month after his burial I had this dream:He and I were sitting in his living room talking as we had done so many times before. He said, “I told you I would let you know what death is like and what you can expect when your time comes.” He continued, “I am happy to say we got some of it right in our conversations, about 50%. As for the rest of it, we were way off. So, here it is.” Then for a very long time, my father proceeded to tell me in great detail what death and beyond is really like.

I awoke from the dream that was so real it took a few seconds for me to separate it from the wakefulness. I hurriedly got out of bed, went to my desk for paper and pen, and sat down ready to write every word. What had been so clear and so exciting just a few moments before had completely vanished.

Dream #3: La Puerta

When my father was nineteen, he caught an empty boxcar in the small Texas town near his parents’ farm, rode it to Mountainair, New Mexico, and worked in the bean harvest for two seasons. He then returned to his roots, and at twenty-three married the girl who became my mother. She was nineteen when I was born.

I grew up with those stories about my father’s adventures in the Manzano Mountains, the Indian ruins, and the railroad.

About three years ago, my wife Linda and I began to dream of a place where one could be laid to rest in a kinder, gentler way than we have grown used to in our fast-moving society. We searched for land along the Rio Grande corridor and found the land of our dreams at the western base of the Manzano Mountains, where Abo Canyon empties into the desert.

That dream, La Puerta Natural Burial Ground, has been a reality for just over a year now, and we are very pleased and honored that so many of you have discovered it.

In 1902, the railroad began construction of a series of trestles up Abo Canyon, the first and largest at the western base of the Manzano Mountains where the confluence of drainage enters Abo Wash on its way to the Rio Grande some twenty miles across the prairie.

Three smaller trestles on the north side of Abo Wash were put in place approaching the curve in the rail-line crossing the wash. To undertake this massive endeavor, the railroad hired some 700 men, mostly from Kansas and China. Right-of-way for the project cut through a large cattle ranch where water wells had been dug to an abundant under-ground water source.

The railroad made a deal with the rancher to set up camp on the east end of the ranch and south side of Abo Wash, very near the largest trestle. A corral, expansive enough to hold 500 mules and horses, was constructed near-by.

As the work progressed, so did the difficulties of camp life. With a little money in their pockets, and not much to do after hours, the men gambled and otherwise entertained themselves by settling disputes with force. Those who did not survive these rough encounters were buried inside the corral under the cover of darkness, so that by morning, all evidence of the graves had been thoroughly stamped out by mule and horse hooves. No record or remaining evidence exists of the number of men buried inside the corral.

At some point during construction, or shortly after the line opened to rail traffic in 1906, a family of five traveling by covered wagon got caught in a massive snow storm, taking refuge under the smaller trestle. They did not survive. Their bodies were discovered by a rail worker, and they were buried on a slight rise within the railroad right-of-way on the north side of the track, about fifty yards from where they died. Their graves were marked with natural stones and the area was fenced to preserve this family’s private cemetery, protected to this day by the railroad.

La Puerta Natural Burial Ground lies on the south side of the tracks about 500 yards to the west of the site where this family was buried over a hundred years ago. A half-mile to the south and east of La Puerta, across Abo Wash, is the location of the mule corral that became a cemetery of unmarked graves. In the spirit of the history and the choices made to honor the dead, La Puerta allows graves to be marked by natural stone or native plant, or to remain unmarked.

The setting of La Puerta is peaceful, beautiful, and historic. The Manzano Mountains rise to 10,000 feet on the northeast; Abo Wash is a short distance to the south. The two 100-foot railroad trestles that cross it are always in view, with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) trains coming and going at close intervals throughout the day.

The canyon is home to Bighorn sheep, deer, mountain lion, and birds both large and small. At several hundred feet of elevation, crystal clear spring water flows from inside the mountain to collect in natural rock basins, while vegetation growing on the upper banks allows a hidden and cautious approach to the stream, providing a rich wildlife meeting place. Life and death are close neighbors.

Standing in the sunlight near the stream, the mountains rising sharply a thousand feet on either side, a feeling of serenity is unavoidable. Flying through the pass from east to west, the earth drops away sharply and the expansive view ahead widens abruptly fifty miles in every direction. Being held close by nature or soaring free in the space above it causes something to awaken at the core, reaffirming how valuable each moment truly is.

Every individual life matters, or nothing matters at all.​In a series of writings, my intention is to share stories of an individual nature in the hope of inspiring those who read them to give value to their own unique experiences and to find meaning at that level, as well as collectively.For thousands of years humans have struggled with making sense of their evolutionary journey. One of the major components preventing clarity of understanding has always been the brevity of time allowed for personal experience. In other words, life is too short to sort it out.

For this reason, as a species, beginning long ago we placed our trust in structures spanning longer duration. We have been taught to embrace numbers, large numbers. If a belief, a thought, a perspective can endure over a large number of years, it must hold more value than individual ones. The larger the number of people embracing a value, the greater the proof it must be so. Without a doubt, there is something to be said for deference to those collective concepts.

However, there is much to be lost if life only has value at this level. In fact, a central point has been overlooked – life is lived one life at a time, not collectively. We are not born together, we are not experiencing life the same, we die as a single life extinguished, even if we die together in some mass event.

Yes, every individual life matters, or nothing matters at all. Please read on -

Briar BranchIt was a warm, early summer day. Dad was in the lead carrying a toy boat he made for the occasion. Mom brought up the rear, avoiding the thorny branches on either side of the narrow trail. From the right, just a little way off came the gentle sound of a stream meandering through the forest undergrowth. The trees were tall and had been racing each other to the sun above their canopy. Over the briars, Yaupon, and grape vines was an unobstructed open space where small birds flew this way and that, calling to each other and meeting up on the branches above them. The deep blue ones, Jays, and the bright red ones, Cardinals, could be seen and heard above the others. Way off, crows chattered to each other, and flew above the top of the forest to destinations higher up on Gee Mountain. Cottontail rabbits were everywhere, scurrying across the path to crouch motionless just out of reach, watching as we passed by.

We came to a small grassy clearing where the world became bright again and the hidden stream collected itself into a deep, narrow sandstone pool. Near the bottom of the pool, yellow and silver-sided perch, lazily opening and closing their gills extended their fins periodically to hold themselves in place in an invisible current.

Our farm house was a few miles south on higher ground, cleared a generation before to grow corn. The soil had already lost much of its richness and the rains didn’t come consistently. Soon my dad would be forced to take a truck-driving job in town to make ends meet. Our way of life would change and we would move from this place to a boarding-house apartment some sixty miles to the north. Another world entirely.

But, not so fast. Stay with me on Briar Branch. Here, all nature seemed to have what it needed to thrive; the sounds joyful, the setting peaceful. Life was everywhere.

Dad helped me put the boat in the pool and we followed along the bank as it slowly drifted to the far end and stopped, waiting to be carried back for another trip. As the boat moved along the surface, its shadow, clearly defined, followed along the bottom some eight feet below, passing over the fish and pebbles. Neither moved.Over the years of my life, I have returned to that day again and again. There, walking between my parents listening to their voices – calm, natural, and expressive, as though the present moment, this present reality, would always be, would never end. I had nothing to fear.

As you know, everything changes. My mother did not stay twenty-three, and my dad did not stay twenty-nine, and in a few months, I was no longer four years old. As time moved on, Briar Branch, as I experienced that day, ceased to exist. All of that rich bottom land fell prey to the oil boom. The trees were dozed, the stream became mud-laden, and the spring that fed it dried up. Later, the land sold to a large ranch and where all that nature had been, only cows grazed on what was left of the grass. Gee Mountain turned out to be a hundred-foot-tall hill with an abrupt rock outcropping on the north side overlooking the stream below.

This may seem like a sad story, and in some ways, it is. But, what would be truly sad would be to have never experienced that day; to have that place never exist, to not know about a reality so well-balanced that everything seemed possible. What a gift my parents gave me. The gift did last a life-time.

If you are afraid, you may need to run. Know when to do so. When you run, run under briars, not into the clearing. When you are well out of reach, crouch down and watch for the danger to pass. Never run through the briars, as they will cut you. Learn to live in the middle; in the open spaces between the dense undergrowth and the top of the forest. That’s where you can truly fly and sing your own song. While at rest, if a cloud passes over, don’t panic. It may only be a small boy’s toy boat sailing on a clear day over the surface of a perfect world.]]>Wed, 10 May 2017 16:17:45 GMThttp://www.naturalburialnewmexico.com/blog/kinder-gentler-and-better-as-we-goLiving kinder, gentler, and better produces the greatest possibility of a finish one can feel good about.Natural Burial New Mexico has its origins in the promotion of a kinder, gentler, and better life. We feel that concept should be extended to include all of life, all the way through to the ending.The seminars and speaking engagements that we do are all about living well in spite of the disappointments, failures, illnesses, tragedies, unexpected events, discomfort regarding mortality, and uncertainties about the future.We welcome the common ground within science, philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and the developments in the exploration of consciousness.We believe in the possibility of better based on:

Making good choices

Becoming proficient

Never being satisfied with “good enough”

Proceed kindly, gently, to better - with the end in mind.

]]>Wed, 08 Mar 2017 17:39:17 GMThttp://www.naturalburialnewmexico.com/blog/la-puerta-del-cielo-httpwwwabqjewnet201702opening-la-puerta-del-cielohtmlOpening La Puerta del Cielo Natural Jewish Burial: A Jewish woman died in Albuquerque last week. She was not just anyone; she was a very special person with whom Abq Jew became acquainted, alas, only after her death.

When a Jew dies in Albuquerque, his or her remains are usually delivered to a local funeral home, where those remains are prepared for burial.

The funeral home usually works with a local rabbi to schedule a funeral service, and often (not always) calls in the Chevre Kaddisha (Jewish Burial Society) to wash, purify, and dress the deceased, and place him or her in a kosher casket.

The deceased is then usually transported to a local cemetery, where the funeral service is performed and the deceased is buried.All of this is done with dignity and respect.

And all of this (except, of course, the services of the Chevre Kaddisha) costs money.

The family of the special person whom Abq Jew met last week did not have enough money to follow the "usual" procedure.

In such a case, what is the responsibility of the Albuquerque Jewish community? And how does the Albuquerque Jewish community fulfill that responsibility?

Respectful treatment and burial of the deadis one of the greatest mitzvot.

When the family of the deceased cannot perform this mitzvah for financial reasons, the Albuquerque Jewish community - through the Jewish Federation of New Mexico - steps in.

The JFNM's kosher pine caskets are usually procured through Fathers Building Futures, a local organization that helpsensure parents and families experiencing barriers from incarceration have the best opportunities for stability - emotionally, socially and financially. This project has been inspired by the courageous men who have, and who will continue to, overcome obstacles in order to succeed as providers for their children and community.

And JFNM's burial plots? While Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque and Vista Verde Memorial Park in Rio Rancho still have some plots available for Jewish burials, there is a new alternative: La Puerta Natural Burial Ground -a 40-acre private, serene, conservation burial site at the base of the Manzano Mountains. Fully certified by the national Green Burial Council, La Puerta's mission is to ensure low cost, environmentally sound, and respectful burial for all.

La Puerta is located about 15 miles southeast of Belen. That's about an hour's ride from downtown Albuquerque - about half an hour on I-25, a quick swing through Belen, and then onto Highway 47.

Yes, it's a bit of a schlep, but the reward for those visiting La Puerta is blue sky, beautiful mountains, acres upon acres of magnificent open fields ... and trains.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway runs through Belen and then heads southeast, crossing Highway 47 just north of the La Puerta turnoff.

The 40-car, 60-car, 80-car freight trains that move across the tranquil La Puerta horizon - silently and powerfully - only add to the serenity of the place. The trains convey continuity - a feeling that, whatever happens, we will go on.

For the very special lady Abq Jew helped bury last week - well, her family (also very special) said she would have been pleased. Which is all we can ask for.

The JFNM has been proud to assist in the proper Jewish burial of several indigent New Mexicans during the past few months. But -The Indigent Burial Fund is almost empty.Can you help the JFNM perform this important mitzvah?

Click here to donate to the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, and please direct a portion of your contribution to the Indigent Burial Fund.

]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2017 18:27:59 GMThttp://www.naturalburialnewmexico.com/blog/la-puerta-natural-burial-pet-cemeterySome twenty years ago one of my sons gifted me with a Blue Merle Australian Shepherd puppy named Kaci for my birthday. Kaci’s mother, Katie, belonged to my son, and Kaci’s sire was a Red Heeler. Kaci was only six weeks old and a beautiful bouncing ball of fur.

Kaci began her life with me sleeping every night against the top of my head on my pillow. During the day she rode with me in the pickup truck everywhere I went. In warm weather, she loved to ride in the truck bed, running from side to side, with the wind blowing in her face. In bad weather she rode up front in the passenger’s seat, watching the road ahead without moving a muscle and a very serious look on her face. I accused her of not trusting my driving.

Kaci grew up with me at a time in my life when I sorely needed her kind of company. She and I lived in a log cabin on the side of a mountain. Our nearest neighbors were deer, elk, bear, and cougars.On warm evenings, when the moon came up full, Kaci would lie outside the cabin and watch it slowly rise over Mt. Nebo across the valley. Watching her take it all in made me wonder what she was thinking, and I wished she could tell me.​Kaci has been gone for several years now. I still miss her and have a difficult time talking about her. Conversing with people about La Puerta Natural Burial Ground has given rise to discussions about what to do for animal companions like Kaci. In answer to that question, Natural Burial New Mexico has established a pet cemetery adjacent to La Puerta. All those we love deserve our respectful care in life and in death.]]>Thu, 12 Jan 2017 16:03:01 GMThttp://www.naturalburialnewmexico.com/blog/love-and-wisdom-from-brian-andreas

]]>Wed, 11 Jan 2017 20:25:23 GMThttp://www.naturalburialnewmexico.com/blog/where-coyote-howls​For thousands of years coyote has observed the comings and goings along the arroyos and canyons surrounding La Puerta Natural Burial Ground. He has been one of the most adaptable, cunning, and ubiquitous life forms that inhabit this diverse landscape. He has been man’s closest neighbor, unafraid to help himself to dinner at the expense of the sheep herder or rancher, and vocalizes his assessment of conditions in a very taunting and audacious manner. He has gained status in folklore, with human qualities attributed to his character by one who knows him best, the Native American.

Coyote’s flexible character, comical antics, and ability to survive those who would put an end to his kind has contributed greatly to his unabashed lifestyle amidst all the chaos and controversy around him. He dances to a unique musical expression with infectious laughter that demands an outlet.

To join Coyote in the experience of life in this landscape is to join a long journey through time surrounded by the spirit of all those who were here before and who live here now. The awareness changes us; causes us to see the world differently, and to look not only at the past, but at the present. Looking at the present through that lens forces us to consider the impact of our lives upon those who will join us in the future. It also causes us to look for ways to dialogue with all those along the endless path. ]]>